Disclaimer: I don’t want to get in whatever trouble people can get into when using other people’s characters so - .The Legend of Zelda, Link, Zelda, Ganon, Hyrule and other related characters and settings belong to to that wonderous console company, Nintendo. No infringement intended.

Juliet A. Singleton (Scullys@bigfoot.com) & Kirsty Singleton (Space@xs.clara.net)

  Selina watched Nick's peaceful face thoughtfully. Once he had spoken to Zelda, he had been too worn out to stay awake. Selina had decided to stay at his side, whereas Leigh had left the two alone. Selina had realised that it hadn't been the real Nick that she had declared her love to, something else had been there. She didn't know whether she'd have the courage to try telling him again. Nick began to stare, Selina watched as he managed to pull himself into a sitting position. "Did a fall asleep there?" he asked sheepishly. Selina smiled at him warmly and nodded. "Do excuse me, I really couldn't help it," apologised Nick, smiling back at Selina.

  "It's okay, you're bound to be tired. I can't blame you for wanting to get some rest," Selina reassured him. Nick took Selina's hand and smiled at her.

  "Thank you for waiting here, I appreciate it," Nick thanked. Selina smiled, this was the real Nick.

  "How are you feeling?" asked Selina, full of concern. Nick rubbed his temples and grinned at Selina.

  "Better than I have in years!" he exclaimed.

  "What exactly happened all those years ago?" inquired Selina. Nick shrugged.

  "I'm not really sure, I can just remember the boat rocking, the wood splintering and then something dragged me under the water. The next thing I knew Ganon was locking me up in some kind of spirit cage, it feels great to have a body again!" explained Nick.

  "I bet it does, do you know that Ganon took over your body and escaped the realm?" asked Selina, after a moment or two. Nick nodded.

 "I remember here him mentioning it to me. Even someone like him gets lonely after a while," replied Nick. "What exactly did he do?" asked Nick, after a short pause.

  "Well, we think he tried to get the Triforce, but Zelda's spell on the tower stopped him - not after he'd pushed Aaron down the stairwell," said Selina. Nick grimaced.

 "I feel terrible," he murmured. Selina touched him lightly on the shoulder.

 "It wasn't you Nick, it was Ganon," said Selina.

  "I'm glad the spell stopped him, but you see, he isn't Ganon anymore! I don't know how he managed it but he managed to turn back to his old human form of Ganondorf! He is much more powerful, and the only reason he wouldn't have been able to enter the tower because the body he was using didn't have the same power," explained Nick.

  "How do you know so much?" asked Selina.

  "He told me, and I saw him opening the portal, leaving his own body and travelling into mine!" exclaimed Nick.

  "We need to tell Zelda!" said Selina, standing. Nick looked up at her,

 "She'll already know, when I used the name Ganondorf, she'll have realised," explained Nick.

 "You sure?" asked Selina, sitting back down.

  "I saw the realisation in her eyes when I mentioned Ganondorf, but maybe you should go and speak with her, I however am pretty much immobilised," sighed Nick.

  "No, it's okay, you're right, besides someone needs to keep you company," said Selina, smiling at Nick.

  "Yes, but can I just ask?" started Nick.

  "Go on," said Selina.

  "How did you manage to revive me? Has magic progressed so far in the last few years?" asked Nick. Selina thought back to Leigh, she'd seemed to think that being able to resurrect people was common knowledge to healers everywhere.

  "It was Leigh, she comes from Sosaria," said Selina reluctantly.

  "Of course!" exclaimed Nick. "I knew she looked familiar, she is the Avatar is she not?" asked Nick. Selina nodded. "She visited Dalsona when I was a small child, strange but she looks no older," mused Nick.

  "She comes from a different Planet apparently and travels back through things called moon gates, according to her, in her own world, only days may pass, but once she returns to Sosaria, years have passed!" explained Selina.

  "Fascinating, I shall have to thank her for saving my life," said Nick quietly.

  He looked back to Selina.

 "But, there is something that I must thank you for," he said, pausing. He rubbed his thumb over Selina's hand.

  "Oh really Nick, you have thanked me already for naught, what else could there be?" laughed Selina.

  "Really Selina, I don't think I could have went on for those seven long years if it had not been for you," said Nick, smiling warmly towards Selina.

  "What do you mean?" asked Selina shyly, lowering her eyes.

  "Well, I could not have survived if I had not had the hope of thinking one day I would be able to escape that realm, and see you again, to tell you how I feel," said Nick slowly. Selina looked into Nick's eyes, seeing nothing but sincerity.

  "Oh Nick, I thought I'd never be able to tell you this, but I..." started Selina, her words flowing with emotion. Suddenly, Leigh walked in. She saw the two, hand in hand and blushed a little.

  "Oops, I have totally lousy timing!" exclaimed Leigh, running a hand through her hair. Selina smiled a little, considering how amazing Leigh was, she didn't seem at all stuck up about it. "I just came to see how you were doing, but it seems our healer has that all taken care of," said Leigh knowingly. She turned to leave, but Nick began to speak, she turned back round.

  "Selina told me about you reviving me. Thank you, I appreciate it very much, I am forever in your debt," thanked Nick. Leigh smiled, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.

  "Think nothing of it," she said, "Well, I'll leave you two to it," Leigh said, before leaving. Nick looked at Selina, and they both laughed. "Well, now that she's gone, you were just about to tell me something," said Nick, grinning cheekily.

  "Was I?" asked Selina devilishly.

  "Well, it seems clear we both feel the same way about each other," said Nick on a more serious note, he managed swung his legs to the side of the bed, and stood up. Selina stood up with him, and he took her into his arms. Slowly, he bent his head to hers, their eyes looking for a brief moment before their lips finally met in a kiss that either of them could have only ever dreamed about in the last seven years. When they finally stopped to catch their breath, Nick stroked the back of Selina's hair and murmured, "Selina Rowen, I love you." Selina looked up at him, smiling.

  "Well in that case Prince Nicholas, I do declare that I am madly in love with you also," flirted Selina.

  "A-hem!" came a highly pitched voice behind them. Selina and Nick turned, it was Sprite.

  "Ah Sprite, so we meet again," greeted Nick charmingly.

  "Hmm, so we do," said Sprite, she flew up to and settled on Nick's shoulder.

  "Did you want something?" asked Selina impatiently.

  "Ooh, snappish!" said Sprite. Selina brushed the small faerie from Nick's shoulder, and wrapped her arms back around his neck.

  "I'm afraid he's taken," said Selina apologetically, leaning towards Nick for another kiss.

  "This is scandalous!" shrieked Sprite in delight, "A Prince and a bar wench!" cried Sprite again, laughing good-naturedly. Selina rolled her eyes, and glanced up into Nick's laughing eyes. "Whatever Sprite!" said Selina casually.

  "Well, if you don't mind, I've got business to attend to," said Sprite haughtily, before flying back through the window.

  Zelda turned the pages of the old book, feeling more and more worried. So the whole south west island used to be the extent of the Hyrulian kingdom? she wondered to herself. Taking a sheet of paper, she did a rough sketch of the current day Hyrule. This is Hyrule now... but the south west island? It's so desolate... it surely doesn't match the description in the book, she thought, confused. Standing up, she wandered over to the large hand-drawn map of Hyrule that was framed over on one wall of the library. It was an extremely detailed one, old, but accurate. She looked down at the south west island, what had once been Ganon's domain. She turned to her book, reading the description. Lake Hylia, located in the far south west, was the source of the Gerudo Canyon river, that ran through Gerudo Valley. Hyrule was bordered on the south west side by the Lost Woods, and further north, Zora's Domain. The north of Hyrule was ended by the Death Mountain Range. Hyrule Castle and it's village nestled at the bottom of the mountains, and Kakariko Village was built at the eastern side of the range. The rest of the kingdom was a large, grassy expanse, ideal for farming. Zelda read through this, then turned to the map again. She did know that at one point, there had been a castle there, and a village. But they were long gone now. There was barely a large lake, as the book went on to describe or a desert. There was a forest, she thought, thinking about it. Nobody had ventured that was for many a year, not since Ganon had made his home there. It was a wasteland now, even though Ganon was gone. She sighed, thinking about Nick's words. "Ganondorf? That couldn't possibly be Ganon, could it?" she murmured to herself. She paced back to the table and sat down, her head in her hands. "It's a coincidence, it has to be," she said out loud, trying to convince herself. Then she turned back to the book. It mentioned a red haired man, who'd gone by the name of Ganondorf, who'd taken power of Hyrule for seven terrible years. It didn't go into much detail, except that The Hero of Time and Seven Sages had imprisoned him in some place called the Dark World. "But Ganon's a... a pig! He's not human, he never was!" she said. She got up, and started pacing again. "This can't be happening, it really can't!" she exclaimed in frustration.

  Sprite peeped her head around the door, and saw Zelda pacing up and down, and talking to herself. The Princess was obviously worried, and Sprite was too. She flew into the room, and up to Zelda. "Zelda! Did Link tell you about the portal?" she questioned. Zelda stopped.

 "You know Link and I aren't speaking," she said coolly.

 "Well, I'd better tell you instead then," Sprite replied.

 "It's not my fault he's such a jerk!" Zelda said, suddenly looking annoyed again.

 "You're telling me! I mean, first he's messing around with that Leigh..." Sprite began.

 "What?!" Zelda said, looking incredulous.

 "Uh..." Sprite blushed. She knew that Leigh had come onto Link on Farore's Day, but she was Link's faerie companion, and wouldn't do anything to hurt him. She hadn't meant to tell Zelda...

  "This is just typical of him! Just because I wouldn't..." Zelda started. She stopped.

 "Zelda, I... Link and Leigh, you've got it wrong!" Sprite interjected quickly.

 "Oh sure Sprite! It all fits! They haven't been able to take their eyes off each other since they met!" Zelda replied angrily.

 "No, Zelda... I meant they'd..." Sprite tried.

 "Oh, don't you go making excuses for him! He's such a terrible flirt, and from what I've noticed with Leigh, she is too! I just don't know how he can do this, he's married to me after all!" Zelda exclaimed. Sprite bit her lip.

 "Look Zelda, there was something else I wanted to tell you," she said.

 "Well make it quick! There's some people I happen to need to speak to!" Zelda snapped. "The portal that Nick came through. Someone's opened it for him to escape... and I think someone else came through," Sprite said.

  "Yes, Ganon! Or Ganondorf! If they're the same person!" Zelda said. Sprite gasped.

 "Ganondorf? Ganondorf Dragmire?" she questioned.

 "Yes. The texts say he was a thief... a powerful sorcerer, banished forever," Zelda said.

 "Zelda, there's a... there's a faerie story... well, it's about who weakened our race. The story goes that it was a terrible sorcerer, named Ganondorf Dragmire, who drained all our powers, it's why we're not as powerful as we used to be. I... never thought it was true, but..." Sprite exclaimed.

 "I'm going to have to be very careful. If Ganon, Ganondorf is truly back, as Nick says... as I sensed..." Zelda murmured.

 "I feel guilty going off. But maybe during my vacation, I can find some more things out," Sprite said.

 "Yes, I think you'd better. We need to be prepared. But excuse me Sprite, there's something else I need to take care of first," Zelda replied, storming out of the library.

  The Princess leaned over the banister of the gallery, looking down into the Great Hall below. She saw Link sitting in one corner, with Aaron and Drake, busy polishing their weapons. Looking sulky, she hitched up the hemline of her dress, and walked down the stairs. Nobody took any notice of her, even as she strode purposely over to the group. Aaron looked up first. "Oh, hello Princess," he said.

 "We need to talk," Zelda said coldly, looking over at Link.

 "Zel, if this is about..." he began.

 "No, it isn't. So come on, I want to discuss this in private," Zelda replied, walking off.

 "Oh good luck. Something tells me she's mad," Drake grinned.

 "She's just in a rotten mood. I'd better go and see what's up," Link said, getting up and walking after Zelda. She lead him out into the back corridor.

 "Link, you are such a jerk!" she exclaimed almost at once.

 "What? What did I do now?" Link asked in surprise.

 "You and Leigh! I know all about you two, so don't even try to deny it!" Zelda accused.

 "Zel, I will! I don't know what you're talking about! Stop making things up!" Link replied.

 "Look, I know, you're the one who's lying! I'm not telling you who told me, but they told me by accident. And it all fits in, ever since Leigh arrived, you've done nothing but follow her around!" Zelda retorted.

 "No, that's imaginary Zel and you know it! Stop jumping to conclusions! Just because you might have seen me talking to Leigh alone or whatever, it doesn't immediately mean that..." Link started.

 "I know what this is. This is you getting back at me for the other night!" Zelda immediately jumped in.

 "Zel... what's the big deal? Things have been fine between us, up until now. Did you change your mind?" Link questioned, suddenly looking upset.

 "Yes, maybe you should have married your precious Kylara after all!" Zelda said cuttingly.

 "You can shut up about that right now. Don't you dare try your emotional blackmail on me Zel," Link warned.

 "I gave you another chance, and as soon as things aren't so good, you just go and amuse yourself with some other girl! For all I know, you do it all the time!" Zelda cried.

 "Alright Zel, you go ahead and think what you like," Link replied, trying to remain calm. He didn't want to hurt Zelda by saying something horrible, he loved her too much for that.

 "Oh, and what's that supposed to mean?" she questioned.

 "You're not stupid," he replied.

 "How could you do this?" she wailed.

 "We've been married for six whole years, we even have a child together!" she added.

 "Oh, like I never noticed," Link replied, slightly sarcastically.

 "Well fine. You and Leigh deserve each other! Don't you even think of talking to me at all today, just leave me alone!" Zelda replied. She turned, and walked off quickly.

  Link ran after her, catching hold of her arm, and pulling her around to face him. "Let go!" Zelda said. He did.

 "Zel, please. You're getting it all wrong," he said.

 "The way I see it, it's all fitting! I saw the way you looked at her when she first arrived!" Zelda said.

 "Zel... she's very beautiful. But, but, you're even more so!" Link replied.

 "If I was, why did you feel the need to look at her?!" Zelda questioned. Link backed her up against the wall.

 "She was... new. Everyone looked at her," he protested.

 "I hate you!" Zelda replied.

 "You're just too jealous!" Link retorted. Zelda pushed him back, and started to walk away again.

 "Don't follow me around! Go find Leigh!" she cried, picking up her speed. This time, he didn't follow her, and Zelda dashed though the Great Hall, her eyes brimming with tears. She noticed people looking at her, and figured that they'd probably heard Link and herself arguing, but she didn't care. Now it was time to take care of Leigh. "Where's Leigh?" she demanded, looking over at Drake.

 "Uh... I think she may be in the Drawing Room, Your Highness," he said, looking surprised.

 "Thank you," Zelda said shortly, making her way towards the stairs.

  Zelda opened the door into the Drawing Room. Leigh was sat quietly, taking to Fayette. "Avatar, come out here at once!" she ordered, stepping into the courtyard Leigh got up obediently, while Fayette watched with interest. Zelda closed the door behind Leigh, and pulled her outside. "I thought you were supposed to have virtues!" she hissed.

 "Well, I do. Except, I'm not sticking to the Sosarian ones right now," Leigh said.

 "Oh, and I suppose you think trying to steal my husband, isn't a bad thing?" Zelda replied sarcastically. Leigh raised her eyebrows.

 "He's cute. But I'm not trying to steal him," she said calmly.

 "Oh really?" Zelda questioned.

 "Of course not! Zelda, wherever did you get such an idea?" Leigh questioned in a sweet tone.

 "Oh, stop the lying! I already know what you two have been doing, behind my back!" Zelda said angrily.

 "Oh, I wish!" Leigh said, grinning.

 "So you do like him?" Zelda said, still angry.

 "Oh definitely. But we haven't been fooling around with each other," Leigh replied, folding her arms.

 "That's not what I've been told!" Zelda retorted. Leigh smiled.

 "I envy you, Princess," she said.

 "I don't know how you even dare do this! Why, I could have you executed for this! It's... it's an offence against my family, conducting an affair with my very own husband!" Zelda cried.

 "I hear that such things never go on in Hyrule. You're a very easy going family," Leigh remarked.

 "Yes, well no-one tried to steal my husband before!" Zelda snapped. She suddenly remembered Kylara... that... peasant girl. "He married me for a reason, you know!" she added.

 "Oh. I've no doubt. But you haven't been very nice of him of late, have you?" Leigh questioned, smiling to herself.

 "Our private life together is nothing to do with you!" Zelda retorted.

 "Well, I just felt sorry for him..." Leigh began.

 "Oh just shut up! Go back to Sosaria! But oh I forgot. You've been exiled, haven't you?! And I bet I know why! You were probably splitting someone else's marriage up too!" Zelda accused hotly.

 "If your private life is nothing to do with me, shouldn't mine be nothing to do with you?" Leigh questioned. Zelda frowned.

 "I don't know who you think you are! Coming to Hyrule right in the middle of Trinity! We don't want you here!" she cried.

 "Oh, from what I've seen, most Hyrulians think quite the contrary. You ought to be grateful to me after all, I saved Nick's life back there," Leigh said in a smug tone.

 "He would have been okay! Me and Selina could have helped him!" Zelda retorted.

 "I'm sorry to tell you this Zelda, but you're no healer. I can tell these things, you know," Leigh said, smiling smugly again.

 "Well, healing isn't my magic speciality!" Zelda replied, looking offended.

 "Oh well, of course, I can't expect you to be as great at me with magic," Leigh said.

 "You don't know who you're dealing with! I'm one of the greatest magic users in the whole of Hyrule!" Zelda said.

 "Oh really? I know spells you'd never dream of using," Leigh remarked coolly.

  Zelda stared at the heroine coldly. "Is that so?"

 "It is," Leigh replied.

 "Oh, you think you're so great, don't you? Such a wonderful fighter, powerful sorceress... and of course, an attractive lover!" Zelda cried. Leigh smiled.

 "That's me. But Princess, you almost sound jealous of that!" she remarked.

 "I'm not jealous! I could be just as good as you, if I wanted!" Zelda retorted.

 "If that were true, maybe Link wouldn't be so interested in me!" Leigh said. Zelda opened her mouth to say something, but she didn't. Leigh watched the blonde haired Princess carefully. It was bad of her, but she was actually enjoying the argument. No more Miss Nice Avatar for me, she decided.

 "You... you take that back at once!" Zelda finally cried.

 "Why should I? I suppose it's only right that you know the truth," Leigh said, her tone sweet. Zelda's eyes narrowed.

 "Truth?" she spat.

 "Oh, that Link's attracted to me. I guess he knows when something better comes along, he's not stupid," Leigh said.

 "You're going to pay for this!" Zelda cried angrily.

 "Oh how? Who's going to believe you? From what I've been told, you've got a jealous streak a mile wide, and an insecurity that's twice as large," Leigh answered.

 "I am not jealous of you! I have no reason to be! I know that I'm one of the most beautiful, smartest women in Hyrule!" Zelda said.

 "Pretty perhaps. And moderately clever," Leigh answered, smirking.

 "You have no right to insult me like this! In fact, how you dare say it is beyond me!" Zelda replied.

 "I'm not trying to insult you. I'm only telling you the truth," Leigh said. Without warning, Zelda jumped towards Leigh and slapped her across the face. Instinctively, Leigh fought back, and being the stronger of the two, she hit Zelda back easily, and the Princess had no time to defend herself. Dazed from Leigh's blow, Zelda stumbled back, holding one hand against her head.

  "Leigh, how dare you hit me like that!" she said angrily.

  "You hit me first," Leigh replied. Zelda regained her wits quickly though and tried to hit Leigh back. The next moment, they were busy having a full out fight, whilst shrieking at each other. As several people rushed out to see what was going on, Leigh pushed Zelda so hard that she fell backwards. She couldn't regain her balance, and fell down onto the grass. She stood up, brushing herself off angrily. She felt the taste of blood in her mouth, and suddenly, she felt a little nauseous. "Oh, so sorry Zelda," Leigh said sweetly.

 "You..." Zelda began. Link ran up to her.

 "Zel! Are you okay?" he questioned anxiously, before glaring over at Leigh.

 "You leave me alone! It's clear you hate me!" Zelda cried, in front of everyone.

 "If you're going to be like this, well maybe you deserved that!" Link replied angrily.

 "I don't believe this!" Zelda cried. She suddenly felt very dizzy. "Link... I think that..." she began. Zelda felt herself begin to faint, but Link quickly drew her up close to him, to stop her from falling.

 "Come on Zel, you're okay," he soothed. She wrapped her arms around him tightly, beginning to sob.

  Fayette walked out, and saw Zelda crying over Link's shoulder, and Leigh standing there surveying the scene with apparent distaste. "What's been going on?" she questioned curiously.

  "That so-called wonderful Princess just started a fight with me. I think I pushed her a little too hard though," Leigh replied.

 "You pushed Zelda?" Fayette exclaimed.

 "She hit me first. She accused me of trying to steal Link from her. I don't know where she got that idea from," Leigh replied.

 "Oh, Zelda was always very jealous. She absolutely hates Link talking to other girls. Gracious, I can't believe she and you had a fight! Are you okay?" Fayette said.

 "Me? I'm fine. I don't know about Her Royal Highness over there, but if I hurt her, it serves her right," Leigh answered. Fayette smirked.

 "I would have done it myself... only I'm much too refined for such behaviour. Of course, not that there's anything wrong with it, but you know, you are a great warrior and everything, and well, I'm just a mere mortal," she said hurriedly. Leigh nodded. She turned, just in time to see Zelda pushing Link away.

 "You can leave me alone now! I don't want to speak to you!" the Princess told her husband. He nodded, and turned away. The hero trudged off, hands in his pockets, head hung.

 "Poor Link. She never did appreciate him," Fayette remarked, watching after him. Leigh watched him walk off too, looking thoughtful. Finally, after Zelda yelled at everyone, they all went back inside, Fayette included, leaving Leigh standing out in the courtyard alone. The old Leigh, The Avatar of Sosaria, would never have insulted a royal person like that. Leigh smiled to herself. Those times were over. She knew what she wanted, and there was nothing going to stop her. So what if it happened to be the love of another? He hadn't been so keen a few days back, but perhaps he might change his mind now. And even if he didn't, there were plenty of other options...

  Zelda suddenly woke up. It was pitch dark in the room, and she was lying flat down on the bed, still fully clothed. She sat up, and reached for the candle that she kept beside the bed. She lit it, and it cast a feeble glow. "Oh... I feel terrible," she moaned to herself. She slowly got up off the bed and stood. Then she walked over to the tall mirror that stood near her dressing table, and glanced at her appearance. A bruise was appearing on one cheek, and a little dried blood was on her neck. Then she remembered Leigh. And their fight. "Oh great," she murmured. This was going to be messy to sort out. She reached up to gently touch the bruise, and flinched. It was very tender there. "Leigh must have hit me pretty hard," she mused. Wondering what time it was, she walked over to the clock on the opposite wall. Holding the candle up to get a better look, she read that it was almost 9pm. "Oh well, might as well go back to bed," she said to herself. Zelda walked over to her dressing table, and began to remove all her jewellery. Last of all, she took off her necklace. Holding it up, she studied it closely. There was something about it... something almost familiar, like she'd seen it somewhere before. I can't have. This is old... surely unique, she thought, puzzled. Shaking her head, she dropped it down onto the dresser, and began to unbutton her dress. I've really made a mess of things, she thought miserably. She and Link still weren't speaking, and she'd had a fight with Leigh. And it hadn't just been a shouting match. Then of course, there was this whole threat of Ganon being back. She slipped on a pale lilac silk night dress, and wiped the tears away from her eyes. At this point, the door opened. She looked up to see Link. He didn't exactly smile at her.

 "I see you're up," he said in a neutral tone, which gave nothing away about the mood he was in. Zelda nodded. She was glad it was fairly dark in the room. He wouldn't be able to see her guilty blush, or her injuries. She placed a sponge in the bowl of cold water on her dresser, then used it to wipe the dried blood off her neck. She gasped a little when it stung, and instinctively, her other hand flew up towards the cut. She noticed Link watching her. Quickly, she washed her face, the cool water did nothing for her though. Zelda walked over to the bed, and climbed under the sheets, trying not to cry.

 "Uh, aren't you going to come to bed?" she ventured. Link shrugged.

 "I don't know. Last time I heard, you hated me. I didn't think you'd want me in here," he replied.

 "This is your room as well as mine," Zelda answered quietly.

 "I suppose it is," he finally concluded.

  Link quickly got washed and undressed, then got in beside her. She wondered whether to blow out the candle; she didn't really want to talk to Link right now. "Are you going to read?" she enquired.

 "No, it's been a long day. I'd like to go to sleep I guess," Link replied. She leaned over, and snuffed out the candle. They lay in bed together in silence for a few minutes.

 "Link?" Zelda finally asked in a quiet voice.

 "Uhuh?" he asked. Zelda leaned over, and kissed him lightly on the lips. Link sat up slowly, and put an arm around her. "I thought you were mad at me," he said.

 "Let's forget about it for now," Zelda replied. She kissed him again, and he kissed her back. "Oh, I'm so sorry..." Zelda murmured, pulling down under the covers.

 "I'm glad. Me too," Link replied, kissing her again, more passionately.

 "It was Leigh, wasn't it? She came onto you, right?" Zelda questioned. Link groaned.

 "Oh Zel, do you have to bring that up now?" he complained. Zelda resumed where he'd left off.

 "I just thought..." she murmured, between kisses, "that you might as well tell me the truth."

  "Well, what do you think it is?" Link asked. Zelda drew away suddenly.

 "Well, I was hoping that it was just all her. But if it had been, I think that you'd have verified it when I first asked!" she said.

 "Oh jeez Zel, you're impossible! Do you want us to make-up or what?" Link asked her.

 "Of course I want us to make up! But how can we make up, if I know you've been..." Zelda started.

 "I haven't , okay? Why can't you just believe me?" Link asked.

 "Well, why didn't you tell me that the first time I asked?" Zelda answered.

 "You're not being reasonable," Link replied.

 "I think I deserve to know if you still love me or not!" Zelda cried.

 "Of course I love you! You know fine well that I do. Although the way you've been acting recently... I can't believe that you hit Leigh!" Link said.

 "Link, you didn't hear the thing she said to me! And she hurt me! I think she ought to leave North Castle at once!" Zelda decided.

 "You started it Zel. What did you expect her to do? Not react?" Link asked in an incredulous tone.

 "Oh that's right. Defend your precious Leigh! What are you doing here anyway?" Zelda said sarkily.

 "In case you didn't remember Zel, I happen to be your husband," Link replied.

 "Well you sure aren't acting like it," Zelda retorted sulkily.

 "You really are impossible these days! Maybe Leigh would have been better company after all!" Link said in an angry tone.

 "Alright Link, this is enough. You can get out of here right now. I don't want to sleep with you tonight, or any other night for that matter!" Zelda cried.

 "Fine. I'm going. I don't want to be with you, either," Link replied, getting up. Zelda heard the bedroom door slam a few moments later. This day had gone from bad to worse....

  Ganondorf crouched silently in the mud, on the outskirts of North Castle. Guards were patrolling, but the dense foliage that surrounded him kept him away from the eyes of those who sought to protect the Royals and their most treasured possession, the Triforce. It was drizzling slightly, and Ganondorf had to admit that he was cold. He was used to the intense heat of the Gerudo Desert, but that was long gone with everything else. He shifted his position, trying to be as careful of possible. His attempt to infiltrate the castle as Zelda's beloved friend Nick had been foiled. Foiled by that hero from Sosaria - the Avatar. He had decided to keep his original threat that he had made to the meddler, by attempting to release the Guardian. However, to his surprise, he had not been powerful enough to do so, and it had been the Avatar that had put the Guardian there in the first place. That was why he feared her most of all, she may not be in Sosaria, but he could hardly call this his home turf ; not any more anyway. She had sensed his presence, known it, and no doubt that Zelda had as well, but the Avatar had not faltered as he had hoped for. She had told Zelda of Nick's secret, not bothering for her own life, or even for those around her, and it was a recklessness like that that he could not tolerate. Yes, his first priority would be to send Leigh back to Sosaria, and if he could not do that then he would have to eliminate her, and that was so much more tempting to follow. His cracked lips turned up into a leer at the thought. He would have plenty of time to pass away whilst he waited for his dark army to build up, and he knew how he would spend it. The Avatar would prove to be an interesting distraction to say the least. He wondered if the Princess had been dreaming of late, as her ancestor had so many years ago. This time he would finish the job, although he couldn't help wishing that on that fateful day that he had first met the hero of time, as he pursued Zelda and her protector, that he had killed the boy. Then life would've been easier for him. Of course, he would have had to discover the entrance to the Temple of Time alone, but if a small boy could've done it then surely the great Ganondorf Dragmire could've done the same. Ganondorf sighed and shook his head. It was useless to dream about what could've been, when he should be dreaming of what was surely to come. Soon Hyrule would once again, fall under his reign, and this time he would be here to stay.

Back to Story Menu